Plantar Fasciitis

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suggests this exercise to stretch the calf and relieve plantar fasciitis: Lean forward with your hands on a wall and one leg forward. Slightly bend the front leg at the knee while keeping the back leg straight. With both heels on the ground, push against the wall. If you can feel your calf stretching, you're doing it right. Hold for about 10 seconds, and repeat 20 times for each foot. An Internet search can turn up all sorts of self-help tips for heel pain.

OAKLAND -- Albert Pujols has partially torn the plantar fascia ligament in his left foot and was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday morning. The injury is expected to sideline the Angels slugger for several weeks and possibly for the rest of the season. Pujols will be replaced on the roster by outfielder Kole Calhoun, who was called up after hitting .354 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs in 59 games for triple-A Salt Lake. Pujols has been hobbled all season with plantar fasciitis, and he aggravated it on a ninth-inning, two-run single against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

Pau Gasol was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis on Thursday, according to a team release. Plantar fasciitis is an inflammation of a tendon within the sole of the foot. It's a relatively common injury that can be resolved with treatment and orthotics (customized shoe inserts). Gasol's right foot was examined by Dr. Kenneth Jung via MRI. The Lakers list their forward/center as probable against the Portland Trail Blazers. Recently Richard Hamilton of the Chicago Bulls tore his plantar fascia, which has him still sidelined now for almost a month.

OAKLAND -- Albert Pujols has partially torn the plantar fascia ligament in his left foot and was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday morning. The injury is expected to sideline the Angels slugger for several weeks and possibly for the rest of the season. Pujols will be replaced on the roster by outfielder Kole Calhoun, who was called up after hitting .354 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs in 59 games for triple-A Salt Lake. Pujols has been hobbled all season with plantar fasciitis, and he aggravated it on a ninth-inning, two-run single against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

The Angels' Albert Pujols went into Saturday's game against Pittsburgh with five multi-hit games in his last seven starts and batting .329 with 16 runs batted in in his last 18 games - numbers that have lifted his season average to .265, the highest it's been in nearly two months. And although June has always been good to Pujols - he has a .328 career average for the month - Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said a big contributing factor in this year's hot streak could be Pujols' ability to deal with the painful plantar fasciitis in his left foot that has limited his ability to run and affected his swing.

Plantar fasciitis. If you haven't had to deal with it personally, just ask around. Chances are you know lots of people who can describe it in great detail: stabbing heel pain and agonizing steps followed by a frustratingly slow recovery. Plantar fasciitis - an inflammation of the plantar facsia, a thick band of tissue that runs along the arch from the heel to the toes - has become so ubiquitous that podiatrists can practically make the diagnosis before a patient even sets foot in their office.

Dwight Howard was fined $35,000 by the NBA on Thursday but was not suspended, a lucky break for the Lakers in their semi-fractured season. But in the "what else could go wrong?" department, Pau Gasol received a diagnosis of plantar fasciitis, painful swelling on the underside of his right foot. It's not the first injury Gasol has dealt with this season - he missed eight games because of tendinitis in his knees - but it wasn't expected to be as weighty. In fact, he was listed as probable for Friday's game against Portland.

Is it the shoes? Something has caused Ron Artest to develop plantar fasciitis in both feet, and Lakers Coach Phil Jackson believes that something might be the shoes his small forward wears. Whatever the case is, Jackson said Artest might have to sit out if he continues to have pain and remains ineffective. "I've called his shoes concrete boots for about the last month," Jackson said. "Those shoes look like they are made for the Hudson River. But he stays with them and he gets his feet worked on. But he does not move really quickly.

OAKLAND - Albert Pujols aggravated the left foot injury that has hobbled him all season on a ninth-inning, two-run single Friday night and returned to Southern California on Saturday to undergo an MRI test and be examined by a doctor, a setback that is expected to send the slugger to the disabled list. "It's more sore than anything he's dealt with all season," said Angels Manager Mike Scioscia . "We'll get some direction and see where he is. " Despite playing with painful plantar fasciitis, a condition that relegated the first baseman to designated hitter for 65 of his 99 starts, Pujols is hitting .258 with 17 home runs and 64 runs batted in. Though Pujols, the team's No. 3 hitter, said the foot didn't feel significantly better after the four-day All-Star break, he did go 12 for 34 (.353)

A .246 average, .318 on-base percentage, .415 slugging mark, eight homers and 31 runs batted in entering June may be decent numbers for a middling major leaguer. Not for Albert Pujols . Not even close. The Angels first baseman, a three-time National League most valuable player in St. Louis, was not in Friday night's lineup, the second time in 55 games he hasn't started. Manager Mike Scioscia wanted to give Pujols, who has been bothered by plantar fasciitis in his left foot and a sore right knee, a night to recharge.

OAKLAND - Albert Pujols aggravated the left foot injury that has hampered him all season on his ninth-inning, two-run single Friday night and returned to Southern California on Saturday to be evaluated by a doctor, a setback that could send the Angels slugger to the disabled list. “It's more sore than anything he's dealt with all season,” Manager Mike Scioscia said before Saturday's game against the Oakland Athletics. “We'll get some direction from the doctor and see where he is.” Despite playing all season with painful plantar fasciitis in his foot, a condition that relegated the first baseman to the designated hitter's spot in 65 of the 99 games he's started, Pujols is hitting .258 with 17 home runs and 64 runs batted in. Though Pujols, the team's No. 3 hitter, said the foot didn't feel significantly better after taking four days off for the All-Star break, he did go 12 for 34 (.353)

The Angels' Albert Pujols went into Saturday's game against Pittsburgh with five multi-hit games in his last seven starts and batting .329 with 16 runs batted in in his last 18 games - numbers that have lifted his season average to .265, the highest it's been in nearly two months. And although June has always been good to Pujols - he has a .328 career average for the month - Angels Manager Mike Scioscia said a big contributing factor in this year's hot streak could be Pujols' ability to deal with the painful plantar fasciitis in his left foot that has limited his ability to run and affected his swing.

Angel slugger Albert Pujols is beginning to break out of his season-long slump, and Manager Mike Scioscia attributes some of that to Pujols learning how to deal with the painful plantar fasciitis in his left foot. “There's a lot of physical things he's dealing with that he's managing,” Scioscia said. “He feels he can go out and still swing, and he's shown he can.” Pujols started Saturday hitting a season-best .298 in June, with half of his hits going for extra bases.

A .246 average, .318 on-base percentage, .415 slugging mark, eight homers and 31 runs batted in entering June may be decent numbers for a middling major leaguer. Not for Albert Pujols . Not even close. The Angels first baseman, a three-time National League most valuable player in St. Louis, was not in Friday night's lineup, the second time in 55 games he hasn't started. Manager Mike Scioscia wanted to give Pujols, who has been bothered by plantar fasciitis in his left foot and a sore right knee, a night to recharge.

HOUSTON - It was about this time last season that Angels hitting coach Mickey Hatcher was fired, a move that seemed to shake up the team and wake up an offense that underachieved for the first six weeks of 2012. While General Manager Jerry Dipoto wouldn't directly answer a question about the possibility of a similar move in a season in which Manager Mike Scioscia and pitching coach Mike Butcher have come under fire because of the team's 11-21 start, he did not sound like an ax-wielding executive Wednesday.

Tim Salmon feels Albert Pujols' pain. The former Angels right fielder played most of 1998 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, and he does not have to imagine how difficult it is for the current Angels slugger to manage the same condition. "I tell you what, it's misery," said Salmon, who works part time on FS West telecasts of the Angels. "It is absolutely one of the most painful things you'll experience outside of a kidney stone because you're putting all your weight on it, and it feels like you're walking with a nail in your heel.

Ron Artest felt slow and sluggish, very much unlike the defender he used to be. "I'm trying to get my defense back to what it was a couple of years ago," the Lakers forward said Wednesday. "I think I'm on the path. The second half of this season and then next year, I should be one of the best defenders." Artest was slowed this season by plantar fasciitis -- painful swelling on the underside of his feet -- but also took a look at something else: his diet. He weighed 266 two months ago. He kept thinking how he weighed 245 when he was the NBA's defensive player of the year in 2004.

PHOENIX - His surgically repaired right knee feels so good that Albert Pujols declared himself fit to play first base in the April 1 season opener at Cincinnati, even though he didn't make his spring debut in the field until Tuesday. "I'll be ready to go opening day," Pujols said after playing five innings of the Angels' 6-1 exhibition loss to Milwaukee in Maryvale Park. "I could play nine innings right now. " But after the game, Manager Mike Scioscia revealed that Pujols has been suffering from plantar fasciitis in his left foot, an inflammation of the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot that can be quite bothersome - especially for larger athletes - and linger for weeks.

With Albert Pujols trying to play despite an injury to his left foot, the Angels are prepared for him to be limited to designated hitter for an extended period of time. "I'm dying," Pujols said Sunday. "It's hurting real bad. " Pujols started at DH for the fourth consecutive game Sunday, and he now has started more games at DH than at first base. He is suffering from plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the tissue that stretches across the bottom of the foot. The most effective treatment can be to stay off the foot -- in the case of a baseball player, a stint on the disabled list to let the inflammation subside.